Do you want to be on screen? Wilmington film industry struggles to find enough extras

If you've ever wanted to be in the movies or on TV, and you live in the Wilmington area, there's never been a time quite like the present.

The near-record number of film and TV productions in Wilmington, along with the requirement that all workers on set be vaccinated against and regularly tested for COVID-19, is causing a hiring crunch as casting agents desperately search for people to work as background extras.

Kimmie Stewart has been working in casting in Wilmington since hit teen drama "Dawson's Creek" was shooting here in the late '90s and early 2000s. She started her own company, Kimmie Stewart Casting, for casting background extras about a decade ago, and is currently casting for Netflix series "Echoes" and the independent film "Breakwater."

"I've never seen it like this in all the years I've been doing it," Stewart said. "In the past, we've had 200 people at our disposal ready to jump in any time. Right now, it's very difficult."

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In a Sept. 14 Facebook post, Stewart wrote, "There is a ton of work & not enough of you amazing folks to go around. We are all posting RUSH CASTING, RUSH CASTING over & over ...  Please spread the word to all your friends that we need people to come join in the filming fun!"

On Thursday, the casting director Taylor Woodell of TW Cast & Recruit sent out a press release — a relative rarity in the world of extras casting — seeking extras for Netflix series "Florida Man." TW Cast & Recruit is also hiring extras for Amazon series "The Summer I Turned Pretty."

Those interested in being an extra can go to StewartCasting.com or TWcastandrecruit.com, or search for Kimmie Stewart Casting or TW Cast & Recruit on Facebook.

And with indie films "Breakwater" and "One True Loves" and country music mini-series "George & Tammy" firing up soon, Stewart said anyone wanting to be an extra could be working five days a week, if not more.

In addition to a lot of shows needing extras right now, Stewart said that required, and necessary, COVID-19 safety protocols are adding to the crunch. All current productions except for "Breakwater" are requiring all people on set to show proof of vaccination.

"That automatically limits the amount of people we can get," she said.

In addition, all extras are required to take a COVID-19 test 48 hours before they're scheduled to be on set. Not the rapid test, but the PCR test, which can take 24 hours to yield results.

If someone tests positive, there isn't generally time to replace them, Stewart said. Nothing she's worked on has had to be delayed, Stewart said, but they've had to sometimes go with fewer extras than needed, including once when a scene that called for 40 elementary school children had to shoot with just 25.

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Also, Stewart said, some people who worked regularly as background extras for years got regular jobs during the pandemic. On the upside, though, "I'm seeing a ton of new people who are like, 'I never knew this was something I could do.'"

"Florida Man" is paying $80 for an eight-hour day, plus time and a half for every hour after that. Those are pretty standard rates for extras, Stewart said.

Plus, extras get a "COVID bump" of $25 every time they get tested through the production.

At the end of day, Stewart said, she sees her industry as being just one of many hit by labor and supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic.

"I mean, I went to Krispy Kreme the other day and I couldn't get a doughnut because they didn't have anyone to work," she said.

Contact John Staton at 910-343-2343 or John.Staton@StarNewsOnline.com.

Be an extra

Interested in being an extra? Go to StewartCasting.com or TWcastandrecruit.com, or search for Kimmie Stewart Casting or TW Cast & Recruit on Facebook.